Posted!

Join the Conversation

Comments

Welcome to our new and improved comments, which are for subscribers only.
This is a test to see whether we can improve the experience for you.
You do not need a Facebook profile to participate.

You will need to register before adding a comment.
Typed comments will be lost if you are not logged in.

Please be polite.
It's OK to disagree with someone's ideas, but personal attacks, insults, threats, hate speech, advocating violence and other violations can result in a ban.
If you see comments in violation of our community guidelines, please report them.

New street honors activist

Betty Newman of Rochester receives the street sign of a new street in Rochester named after her mother Virginia Sawdey who was a community advocate along with Newman's son and daughter, David Osborn, right and Randi Villegas, left, and Sawdey's great-granddaughter Khloe Matos, Mon., May 20, 2013.(Photo: MARIE DE JESUS, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)Buy Photo

The city’s newest street was officially opened Monday, named in honor of a well-known and well-loved city activist.

Sawdey Way is named for Virginia Sawdey, who was known as “The Mayor of Driving Park Avenue” by neighbors.

She died in 2011 at the age of 88.

The ceremony, attended by members of Sawdey’s family and several city officials, took place at Sawdey Way and Emerson Street, which is between Dewey and Fulton avenues.

For nearly two decades, Sawdey was involved with Neighbors in Motion, Root Out Drugs (NIMROD), helping to close more than 100 drug houses.

Mayor Thomas Richards praised Sawdey for her efforts to make her neighborhood a better place.

“"She was a role model for anyone who was willing to refuse complacency and demand action,” Richards said. “I am honored to name this street after her to ensure the legacy of Virginia Sawdey, and all that she stood for, lives on."

Sawdey Way connects Locust and Emerson Streets, cutting in two a residential block that had once been the longest in the city.

It was constructed using new ecologically friendly technologies, including porous pavement, pervious concrete sidewalks and rain gardens, which can help filter pollutants from storm water.